Bush talks tough and plays nice in Europe

Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, February 23, 2005

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - As President Bush made the rounds of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the European Union on Tuesday, he displayed a mix of the combative president of his first term and the conciliatory leader advertised for the trip.

The White House signaled the president's desire to start a fresh chapter in trans-Atlantic diplomatic relations. But Bush also showed he was not willing to entirely drop his old script.

"Same old Bush," the president joked when asked about his defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, sending mixed signals to Europe about its disagreements with U.S. intervention in Iraq.

The president hailed modest NATO contributions to the Iraqi military training effort as a turning point in U.S.-European relations but also criticized the Europeans' plan to lift an arms embargo with China, saying that would place Taiwan at a disadvantage.

Bush hedged his response to a question about concerns in Europe that he has plans to take military action against Iran over its nuclear ambitions.

"This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous," he said, quickly adding, "That said, all options are on the table."

Nuclear concerns

Great Britain, France and Germany are negotiating with Iran to dismantle its nuclear facilities. They have been alarmed by suggestions from some U.S. officials that undercover action might be used to destroy the facilities.

Bush said a major purpose of his trip was to listen to the concerns of Europeans on issues such as the arms embargo with China.

"You might call this a listening tour, that people have got things on their mind and they want me to hear it," he said.

In contrast, the president provided a passionate defense of his decision to invade Iraq when asked what he was doing differently in his second term to improve trans-Atlantic relations.

"The policy in the past used to be, 'Let's just accept tyranny, for the sake of — well, you know, cheap oil, or whatever it may be — and just hope everything would be OK,' " he said. "Well, that changed on Sept. 11th for our nation. Everything wasn't OK."

The president's advisers said that despite disagreements over issues such as China, Bush's meetings at NATO were the smoothest in years.

"There is a spirit, I think a sense, in the room today among leaders that we've had a big trans-Atlantic row over Iraq, we've done it, it's time to move on," said a senior administration official who spoke on the condition he not be identified.

On the ground in Iraq

The White House noted that for the first time, all 26 NATO countries agreed to contribute funds and personnel for the training of Iraqi troops. The final holdout was France, which agreed to train Iraqis in France.

"Every contribution matters, and every country ought to be proud of the fact that they're contributing to the world's newest democracy," Bush said.

Luxembourg, Spain, Greece and Germany agreed in the last two weeks to give 400,000 to 500,000 euros for training, the administration official said. For the first quarter of 2005, NATO is trying to raise 4 million euros, about $5.2 million.

White House officials acknowledged that last fall, the United States was providing about half of the NATO trainers for Iraqis and that Europe is expected to increase its contribution this spring.

On another issue, Bush said that despite his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin for rolling back democratic reforms, he expected to have a "constructive relationship with Russia."

"I've got a good relationship with President Putin, and that enables me and our country to remind (him) that democracies are based on the rule of law and respect for human rights and human dignity and respect for a free press," he said.

Bush is scheduled to meet with Putin in Slovakia on Thursday.

In Moscow, Putin defended his approach but sounded conciliatory. Asked whether he anticipates unpleasant questions from Bush about backtracking on democracy, Putin emphasized that Russia has firmly chosen a democratic path.

"Russia chose democracy 14 years ago not to please anyone, but for its own sake, for the sake of the nation and its citizens," Putin said, speaking to Slovak media ahead of Thursday's summit.

"Naturally, basic principles and institutions of democracy must be adapted to today's realities of Russian life, to our traditions and history."